


Parental Instinct

by The_Rose



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: 7.2 timeline, Booty Bay, Borderline Smut, Dalaran, F/M, Legion timeline, The real stuff will come later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:37:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24950149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Rose/pseuds/The_Rose
Summary: Illidan tries his best to mend his relationship with Maiev, in the hope to be able to work together correctly as Khadgar asked. But despite that the Warden doesn't want anything to do with him, she unwillingly gives him a way into her life.
Relationships: Maiev Shadowsong/Illidan Stormrage
Comments: 15
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Here's another starter for a multi-chaptered chapter and I hope you will like it!

The moon was high in the sky and shining brightly while the stars were only hidden by the strong goblin’s lamps that were covering the entirety of the little coastal town, making it stand out as it sparkled brilliantly. And in that light fest, the Salty Sailor tavern was shining the brightest. Inside, people of all races and affiliations were enjoying the end of the evening as it turned into night, and, strangely enough, it wasn’t a brawl night. That way, the travelers could enjoy some calm before going back to whatever business they had going on in their life. 

Booty Bay was allowing those travelers to forget about their life for a night, and it was why it was a place so popular for a lot of people.

Sitting at a table, Maiev stretched and yelled at a waiter to get her another snack. She didn’t have her armor that day, she had let it in the Vault in the hope to travel without being recognized, and she almost felt vulnerable but it was still a better feeling than the one that made her leave the Vault for a vacation. Illidan had been killed recently, and she had a part in that fact, and ever since that she had conserved his body in a crystal and put it in safety into the Vault, she had been visiting it every day. She was still extremely angry at him and felt like he hadn’t paid enough, when he had lost his life, but she couldn’t do anything about it anymore and she was just yelling at a dead body. The last time she went down there, she began to cry and at that moment, she realized that it wasn’t good at all and that she needed to take back the control of her life. In the following hours, she had told her Wardens that she was taking a vacation and she left to wander around Azeroth, far away from Illidan, and she ended up in Booty Bay. She liked that place and stayed for a week. It was her last night there before going back to her Warden’s duties.

“Hello,” said a voice, interrupting her thoughts.

She raised her head and looked at the newcomer. It was a Night Elf, blueish skin; green hair; and he had golden eyes. He was smiling at her, two glasses of beer in his hands, and she smiled back at him.

“I’ve been looking at you for some time now,” he continued. “And I would have loved to offer you a drink.”

Saying it, he put one of the glass on the table, in front of Maiev. She quickly glanced at her own, looking sadly empty and it made her smile. 

“I gladly accept,” she replied, showing him the chair in front of her to invite him to her table.

He sat while Maiev took the first sip of the beer, getting her to realize she had already lost the count of everything she had drunk that night, but it wasn’t a problem, she was feeling good. And it was all that mattered that night.

“So… What does a beautiful woman like you is doing here?” he asked.

“Cut down the compliment,” she laughed. “I already know that.”

“I guess I must not be the first man to tell you that then,” he winked.

She smiled sadly as the last time someone must have been complimenting her on her body was probably when Kalimdor was still whole, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t act boldly as she already knew where the night was going. 

“Indeed, but not all of them got to keep talking to me after they said it,” she winked back. “Anyway, I’m on a vacation and it’s my last night here. I’m leaving in the morning.”

The man pouted.

“Oh, what a shame! I only got here.”

“Better make it counts no?” She told him, her hand on the table, slowly reaching him.

He looked at it and chuckled, taking the hand.

“You’re not funny,” he kept chuckling. “I had way more things to say to convince you and you just threw it all away.”

“I know what I want,” she smiled at him. “And honestly, there’s another way you can put your mouth at work.”

He laughed louder and got up, still holding Maiev’s hand to make her follow him. She quickly dropped some gold coins to pay for her meal and she followed the stranger as they went upstairs in the room he was renting for his stay. As soon as they stepped inside the room, they got in each other’s arms and began to kiss like crazy. It was actually surprising Maiev that besides staying an entire week there, not even once she thought of finding someone to have a little fun, until that stranger came to her. 

They were still against the wall, and he was already inside her. She moaned loudly, deciding that she would be the one responsible for the lack of sleep of the other travelers for once and she just let the man do everything as she simply enjoyed that feeling that she had missed for so long. Looking at his golden eyes and his soft face smiling at her made her come, but they continued for a good part of the night.

In the morning, she woke up before him and she stretched. She took back her clothes laying everywhere in the room and dressed up before leaving the room. Her vacation was now over and she had to go back to the Vault and her Wardens. Quickly passing by her own room, she took back her stuff and finally, bought a fly by griffin to go back to Azsuna.

She never saw that man ever again.

***

“Khadgar, please! He was killed for a reason!” 

Maiev’s voice was echoing through the hallway of the Citadel, getting the few passersby to look to the sound of the yelling. Yet, Khadgar only sighed and tried his best to appease the furious Warden, who was making his life a real hell since he came back from the Nighthold.

“Warden Shadowsong, we had no other choices but to bring him back to life. Sargeras could have taken possession of his body if we haven’t done anything. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“We could kill him again,” she said, a knife swinging in front of her.

“We won’t. We might need him to fight the Legion.”

“You just said “might”, so it means that it isn’t needed!” she pointed out. “And anyway, I don’t want that walking disaster around me!”

“The “walking disaster” would love to have a word in the conversation,” finally interrupted Illidan, who had been in the room since the beginning.

“Shut up Illidan!” Maiev yelled, turning her face to him. “It doesn’t concern you.”

Illidan’s shoulders and wings dropped at those last words. He couldn’t believe she dared to say something that stupid.

“Yes! Yes, it concerns me! You’re talking about my future right now.”

“Maybe the day you’ll be able to take the right decision, otherwise, you just shut up!”

“Who gave you the right?” he growled as he got closer to the Warden. “It’s not because you killed me that suddenly you have the right to command me.”

“I don’t want you around that place. And if you ever dare to lay a hand on me, I’ll beat you up to death!”

With those words, she turned around, whipping her cloak in the process, and she left the room as she had better things to do than arguing with Illidan. Especially that she knew that Khadgar had already made up his mind about the situation and that nothing would change it. All that she could do was to be prepared to do some damage control around the Betrayer now.

“Why… Why is she angry like that?” finally asked Illidan, turning to Khadgar.

The Archmage shrugged.

“I don’t really know. But it’s only with you that she has those outbursts. She had been pretty quiet with everyone else.”

“Oh great,” groaned Illidan. 

“I… I even thought it would be alright,” explained Khadgar. “When I was talking with her about the possibility to bring you back, she didn’t seem to be that angry at that thought. She… She even agreed that we could need your knowledge against the Legion.”

“You’re kidding me, right? That’s just a joke?”

“No, I’m serious. She was pretty chill about it. Until she saw you.”

Illidan began to rub his face with his hand, with a sound that looked like a mix of a groan and a sigh. If only his physical presence had succeeded to change Maiev’s mind about their initial plan, it was going to be a lot harder to work with the Warden.

“I know it won’t be easy,” continued Khadgar. “But it could be a good thing if you could have a conversation with her. We need to be sure that there won’t be any problems between all of us when we’ll attack the Tomb.”

“You should do it. You saw how she threatened me.”

“I could try, yes. But if this is for her to change her mind again as soon as she sees you, it will be useless.”

“And if she stabs me?”

Khadgar crossed his arms and sighed, looking down as he thought about that possibility. 

“I don’t think she will. And if I’m wrong and that she does it, there will be punishment.”

“I hope you are right Archmage,” said Illidan. “I will try to talk to her if this is what you want.”

“Thank you, Illidan.”

Despite that Illidan promised that he would have a conversation with Maiev, he quickly realized it was going to be the hardest task of his new life. He had been really surprised to hear that, in some way, Maiev wanted him back and accepted it. So, he didn’t understand why she got so angry at him when they met right after his resurrection, especially that she should have been aware that they would tell him she accepted. But deep down, he knew she wasn’t acting and that she was really angry at him. The list of all the reasons she could be angry at him was long, really long, but he thought that with his death, it would be gone. So, what could have happened to her to stay angry like that?

He had no idea.

And yet, he couldn’t even ask her because she was avoiding him, and she was really good at that. In the morning, he couldn’t catch her before the start of the day because she wasn’t sleeping in Deliverance Point; in the day, she was either fighting alongside the troops, or it was him; and in the evening, she was leaving the place. 

Only Elune knew how hard he tried to catch the Warden and just, ask her to find some time to have a discussion, but it was useless. The fact that Khadgar was asking him every day if he succeeded was also getting on his nerves and as a new day began once again, he sighed, ready for another day of failure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here's the update for this week ^^
> 
> Enjoy!

Stretching, Illidan yawned loudly in the cold morning. He was the first one ready for the job, welcoming the early adventurers who wanted to go take down the Legion as fast as they could that day. Meanwhile, Velen and Khadgar were taking their time to get their breakfast, trusting Illidan to be alone and do the job well. What surprised him the most actually, was that Maiev was nowhere to be seen yet. Usually, she would be the first one on the spot but that morning, she wasn’t there. Obviously, it made him groan as he had hoped that it could finally be the day he would have that long-needed conversation with the Warden.

Above him, a hippogriff began to land, coming directly from Dalaran, and when Illidan rose his head to look at it, he frowned. Unless his spectral sight was playing tricks on him, the person on that hippogriff was no other than Maiev herself, and it was strange as he would have bet that she was actually spending her nights with the others Wardens on Azsuna and not Dalaran, so why would she come from there? When the animal finally landed, the figure on it quickly jumped from it and Illidan got the confirmation that it was indeed the Warden. But something was wrong with her. As soon as she stepped down, she began to run towards the tents area of the headquarters, looking panicked and with a shadow all over her face. But before Illidan could try to reach her, she had disappeared in a blink and he couldn’t do more.

It was concerning, but despite it, Maiev finally showed up, wearing her entire armor like always, in less than five minutes after her landing. She was acting as if nothing happened, but Illidan could see that the shadow was still on her face, and she also seemed in pain as she tried to hide it with her helmet. Yet, she must have forgotten that Illidan had a spectral sight allowing him to bypass that protection.

“Maiev?” he began, turning towards her.

“Shut up!” she immediately replied, cutting down all possibilities to have a conversation.

Well decided to not let her run away again, Illidan opened his mouth, ready to talk again, but Maiev quickly retaliated by barking at the first adventurers passing by, sending them on a mission, and Illidan knew it was useless to try to get her attention. But now, he knew that she was hiding something from them, and he was going to discover what it was.

As soon as Khadgar and Velen showed up, Maiev decided to leave Deliverance Point to lead a few adventurers into the battles on the Shore, and Illidan welcomed that break with open arms as he had to ask some questions to the two others commandants, mainly Khadgar who was the one who probably had to deal with the Warden the most.

“Hey Khadgar, can I bother you for a second?”

“Oh sure,” replied the Archmage. “What is it about?”

“It’s about Maiev –” began Illidan.

“Oh, you finally got to talk with her?” quickly interrupted Khadgar.

“No, and that’s why I have questions,” explained Illidan. “She’s clearly avoiding me – doesn’t surprise me – but… I feel like she’s acting strangely? Do you know what she’s doing when she isn’t in Deliverance Point?”

Stepping back, Khadgar began to scratch his chin, thinking about the question.

“She did warn me that she wouldn’t always be there and that she wasn’t going to spend her nights with us,” began the Archmage. “But she didn’t give me an explanation and I just assumed that she would be with her Wardens.”

“Did they establish some headquarters in Dalaran?”

“Not that I’m aware of. As far as I know, they settled on the Isles of the Watchers in Azsuna.”

Illidan crossed his arms, looking up towards the floating city as he was trying to understand what was happening.

“And does Maiev would have anything to do with Dalaran? A reason why she could spend the night there?”

“I heard that her brother rented a house there after he helped her out of Black Rook Hold, but otherwise, nothing else.”

It wasn’t helping him much. There was like only a fifty percent chance that the brother’s information had something to do with her behavior, and even then, it wouldn’t help him much. Or maybe that it was the solution, finding a way to Maiev through her brother, even though he couldn’t find a reason why she would spend her nights with Jarod.

“And have you already caught her coming in late?” Illidan asked, this time also turning towards Velen to get his answers.

“I did,” confirmed the Prophet. “I think it happens at least once a week but I don’t say anything because I think it’s out of her control.”

“Out of her control, you say?” squinted Illidan. “What do you mean by that? Do you know anything?”

“It’s just that I recognize the face she’s making those days. It must be really hard for her.”

“And do you plan to keep speaking in riddles or are you going to tell us what is happening?” sighed Illidan.

The Draenei softly smiled.

“This is not my place, nor the time to speak. This is something she has to do by herself.”

“And you Khadgar, do you also know something I don’t?” The hybrid asked, turning towards the Archmage.

“I know about the same as you do,” he shrugged. “But I quickly learned to not question Maiev. And honestly, as long as she does her job well, I don’t mind her being late every few days.”

“Well, thank you for your help,” Illidan said, mostly looking at Khadgar.

And with those words, Illidan left the two men near the Command Center and went to for a walk to put some orders in his thoughts, and to find the best way to catch Maiev and force her to have that conversation. If at first, he only wanted it to reassure Khadgar that everything would be fine between the Warden and him, now he mostly wanted it because he was intrigued by her. What could have happened between his death and resurrection for her to change her behavior around him? Not only was she actively hostile with him when they had to share a space, but she was also doing her best to avoid him. It was surprising him because he had thought she would become his shadow just to make sure he wouldn’t step out of the line. Yet, he had way more freedom than he could have dreamt.

Walking through the tents area, he looked at the one that Maiev should be using, reminding him how she was actually never sleeping on the Shore and instead would always leave. And the strangest, was that he had already noticed that she wasn’t even taking her armor with her. After the day, she would move towards her tent, get rid of her armor and put it in safety inside, and then, leave the place. He knew it as he already saw her doing it, without speaking of the few times he went to her tent, only to get his spectral sight to show him the armor, resting unattended inside. And the woman wearing it nowhere to be seen.

Why would she even get rid of her armor? It was her protection and her signature.

Illidan couldn’t even wrap his head around the fact she would let herself appear vulnerable. He couldn’t even understand a single thing about the Warden right now and he hated it. After spending over ten thousand years in her company, he would have thought that he could read her like an open book, yet it wasn’t the case at all. But it wasn’t meaning he wouldn’t find the answers.

As a plan formed in his mind, he smiled and went back to his stroll, patiently waiting for the evening.

“Alright, good job everyone,” announced Khadgar, officially putting an end to the day, to Illidan’s delight. “Keep doing like that and soon, we will push back the Legion to their cursed world.”

The crowd cheered and quickly scattered, everyone wanting to go back to a semblance of a normal life. From the corner of his eyes, Illidan looked at Maiev, checking a few things with a Warden who had flown over there a little earlier, and he smiled once again as he prepared his plan. He walked to Khadgar and Velen who were setting up the schedule for the next day.

“I just want to warn you that I’ll be spending the evening on the Fel Hammer, I need to see a few things with the Illidari,” he casually told them, yet avoiding their gaze when they looked back suspiciously at them.

“Alright,” finally said Khadgar. “See you tomorrow then.”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” simply replied Velen, both as a warning and a goodbye.

Calmly, Illidan went to the flight master and bought his travel to Dalaran, from where he would get the access to the Fel Hammer, and when he left the place, he looked at Maiev, still talking with her subordinate and he really hoped that she would go to Dalaran like always. Once he landed on the floating city, he made his way to the little island next to it, where the Illidari guarding it saluted him. He simply nodded back, and went to lean against a tree, using it to hide, and looked towards Krasus’ landing, using his spectral sight to check on everyone who would put a foot there.

About half an hour after he began to observe the place, he finally caught the sight of his prey. Using a Felbat from Deliverance Point, Maiev was flying straight towards the city, and thankfully, didn’t seem to realize that Illidan was looking at her. Once he saw the animal had landed, he quickly spread his wings and followed the same path, trying to quickly catch her, while not giving away his presence. He landed on the place, happy that the sound of the crowd would hide the sound of his hooves on the pavement, and he quickly searched after Maiev, only to catch a glimpse of her leaving the landing to get inside the city. Locking his sight on her, he began to run to not lose her.

She was walking through the streets with such carelessness that it surprised Illidan. Not even once she was looking around her, despite that it seemed that she didn’t want anyone to know what she was doing there. But also, she was walking quite fast, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the morning. Yet, he kept following her, keeping a good distance between them by security, until she reached the little park near the Goblin’s bank.

There, sitting on a bench, there was Jarod and a little girl. It surprised Illidan as he had been certain that the brother had nothing to do with Maiev’s behavior, but he was even more surprised to see a little kid, probably not older than seven, with him. Then, as Jarod said something to the girl, she turned her head towards Maiev, and let out a happy scream as she jumped away from the bench and ran towards the Warden. Maiev opened her arms as she crouched and the little girl jumped on her as they stayed embraced.

Looking at the little night elf girl, with her blueish skin and pale pink hair, Illidan immediately noticed the resemblance in the traits of each other, and slowly, every piece of the clues put themselves together.

What had changed with Maiev, was that she became a mom while he was dead.

Slowly, he approached them, still trying to look like he was walking casually, and finally, he let his presence be known.

“Ah, Maiev, I wasn’t expecting you there,” he simply said as he had a smirk on his face.

Immediately, the Warden became tensed, and she slowly turned her head to get the confirmation that it was indeed Illidan who had called after her. Then, she took a deep breath, and Illidan prepared himself for the outburst.

“Illidan,” she acknowledged with a soft voice, yet her eyes trying to kill him. “What are you doing here?”

She had raised herself, holding her daughter in her arms as Jarod didn’t know how to react as neither of them had expected that Illidan would run into them.

“Simply doing what Khadgar asked me to do, and it’s to have a conversation with you,” he replied with a cocky smile.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! 
> 
> For this Saturday, it's the third chapter of Parental Instinct! 
> 
> Enjoy ^^

As soon as Maiev heard his voice, she regretted not taking more precautions to hide her daughter’s existence from Illidan. Even if she knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret forever, and that Velen was already aware of the child as he had spent three hours talking with her about his son when he was her age, just the fact that Illidan of all people would know, was grinding up against her nerves. She hated it so much, but it was now too late to do anything, and killing him wasn’t a good idea as she would be the very first people would think of as a culprit. So, she simply refrained her murderous thoughts and glared at Illidan trying to badly justify why he was there. 

But instead of continuing to talk to Maiev, he slightly crouched down to be at the girl’s level and gently smiled.

“Hi,” he said to her. “I’m Illidan, what’s your name?”

“I’m Mirina!” she quickly replied, happy to meet a new person.

“That’s a pretty name” he chuckled at the eagerness of the girl. “I’m a friend of your mom.”

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Maiev rolling her eyes to the sky, while trying to repress a groan that would tell right away that it was a lie, from her perspective. But Mirina wasn’t caring about her mom’s reaction, and instead, looked at Illidan from the horns to hooves.

“You look weird,” she stated without a warning.

Illidan kept his smile, but his face was clearly surprised. It wasn’t surprising him that a little child would point out his strange appearance when the adults would avoid the subject altogether and just roll with it, but it was mostly because she had stated it way nicer than he could have expected from a Shadowsong. There was still hope for some niceness in that bloodline.

“If Khadgar really wanted us to have a conversation,” cut Maiev, stepping back from Illidan. “Why didn’t he tell me personally about that?”

“He simply thought that as two responsible adults,” Illidan replied, insisting on those words to shame Maiev. “We would be able to sit down and have that conversation without any exterior help needed.”

He kept smiling at her. But not a gentle smile, more like a mocking one as he had realized that Maiev wouldn’t act as she would usually do if Mirina was near. He was going to use that new weapon against her and she knew it. The next days, maybe weeks, were going to be hell for the Warden. 

“So, now that we don’t really have anything to do,” continued Illidan. “Maybe we could have that conversation, like that I can tell Khadgar it’s done and he’ll be off my back. And I get off yours.”

Maiev was tempted to refuse. After all, she hadn’t seen her daughter much for the day, and she had promised to be with her for the night. But at the same time, if she was refusing it tonight, she could be sure that Illidan would be back the next day, and the day after, and would keep going until she gives up. The worst would be that he talks about Mirina in Deliverance Point and out her as a mother. If it had to happen, she wanted to do it by herself and not let such a disaster ruin her life again. She looked at Jarod, who hadn’t said anything yet, as it wasn’t really his place to intervene.

“Do you think you could keep her for the night?” she asked him.

Immediately, Mirina clutched over Maiev’s clothes, hiding her face against her bust.

“You promised to stay with me,” she cried.

Maiev took a deep breath, looking desperately at Jarod who had come closer to get the child. But she knew she had to do it by herself and not let anyone else take her role as the parent. So, she gently brushed away a strand of hair and made Mirina look at her.

“I know, I know,” she softly whispered. “But it’s for my work and I have to do that. What we can do, is that tomorrow morning, I will come to see you and we will spend a few hours together.”

“But you will be late if you do that…” 

“I won’t really be late as I’m going to do something for work tonight,” Maiev gently explained. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there for you. That’s a promise that I will keep.”

As Mirina slowly calmed down, Illidan got closer and gently put his hand on her head, brushing her hair.

“And I promise to bring your mom back,” he gently said.

He could feel Maiev’s eyes trying to kill him, but he didn’t care and instead, watched as the little girl was furrowing her eyebrows at Illidan’s promise. 

“You promise?” she asked, not crying anymore.

“I promise,” he replied in all seriousness. “Tomorrow, your mom will be there for you.”

As Mirina was finally completely calmed and had agreed on the new plans, she struggled in Maiev’s arms to be put on the ground, and then, she went to Jarod. Grabbing his leg, she began to push him to get him to walk and Jarod simply shrugged it off and followed the little girl.

“Sure you don’t want me to get to your place and wait for you?” he asked as they passed in front of Maiev.

She sighed as she glanced at Illidan.

“I don’t know how long it will take,” she explained before whispering. “And I don’t know in which state I’ll be. I prefer that you keep her for the night, it’s better like that.”

“Understood. If you need an alibi, don’t forget I’m there.”

“What’s an alibi?” intervened Mirina, asking out loud.

“That’s a drink,” immediately reacted Jarod as Illidan repressed a laugh.

“Can I have one?” Mirina gasped, only wanting to try something new.

“That’s an adult drink,” Jarod replied while Maiev was elbowing Illidan to calm his laughter. 

Mirina began to pout and Jarod made a gesture as if he was sweeping his forehead, telling them that it had been a close call. Finally, Jarod and Mirina walked away from Illidan and Maiev, leaving them alone for the night, not without Mirina waving her little hand with a lot of energy for such a little body, saying goodnight to her mother. Now that it was only both of them, Maiev sighed loudly and cursed under her breath, punching Illidan in his arm.

“Oh, so the real Maiev was still there,” he chuckled, brushing his painful arm.

“Shut up or I will throw you from a cliff,” she glared at him.

“And I have no doubts you will,” he replied with a smirk. “Anyway, I can eventually pay for the drinks if you accept to drink a normal amount. What do you say?”

“I will strangle you in your sleep.”

“Oh please, you would need to sleep with me first.”

Before he could realize it, Maiev had grabbed his chin with her hand and she was lowering him down at her level, her eyes twitching as she glared at him for what seemed an eternity.

“Don’t you ever dare say something like that again,” she growled to his face. “And while I’m at it, touch my daughter again, and I rip off your arms.”

“Understood,” he replied, feeling uncomfortable by the position. “By what if it’s your daughter who touches me?”

“I rip your arms off and break your legs!”

“Well, at least that clear. Thank you for the warning,” he joyfully said, finding Maiev’s protectiveness really amusing. “But could we at least get in that bar there at the corner and have that conversation? I don’t really want to spend the night awake dealing with you.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come here!”

“And get Khadgar on my back about that conversation again tomorrow? No, thank you.”

Maiev sighed louder and finally let go of his face, giving him back some freedom. Together, they walked to the bar at the center of Dalaran and sat at a table. Quickly, a waitress came to take their orders, and as Illidan had proposed to pay for the drinks, and that Maiev knew she wouldn’t be able to spend the rest of the night sober, she asked for some strong and expensive alcohol while Illidan simply took a glass of wine. Once it was done, they both sat comfortably on their chair, and Maiev finally talked.

“So, what is that story of “conversation”?” she asked, eye-siding him suspiciously.

“Well, because you had such an outburst when you saw me after my resurrection, Khadgar is afraid that we won’t be able to work together correctly and that it will bring discord into the ranks of the Army of Legionfall.”

“Seriously?” Maiev said, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t really see any problems happening since we started the counter-attack. And it had been what? Weeks already?”

“I know,” groaned Illidan rubbing his face. “But he really wanted this conversation to happen, because you weren’t opposed to my return at first, but then, you had that outburst. Ever since, Khadgar bothers me every day with that conversation.”

At the mention that she wanted him back, Maiev’s face took a red taint that she quickly tried to erase by chugging her entire drink down, hoping to be able to pretend that it was the alcohol giving her that taint. But Illidan wasn’t even looking at her, and instead, played with his own glasses, looking at the wine moving inside.

“Well,” groaned Maiev, now only wanting to shorten the evening. “We pretend we had a really long and meaningful conversation so Khadgar leaves you alone with that, and, I don’t know, I insult you less? Would work for you?”

Illidan immobilized his glass, thinking about the proposition. 

“Why not. It could work.”

“Great. Glad we settled that.”

And now, the silence fell between them. Maiev still ordered another drink, as Illidan was paying, but she didn’t want to speak anymore with him. If she had known it would be that easy, she would have accepted Jarod’s proposition to wait for her at her place, but now, it was too late and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go back there by herself. As if Illidan had read her mind, he spoke with the questions that had been bothering him ever since he found her earlier.

“So… You became a mother?”

Maiev quickly drank a little more. She had expected questions about Mirina but now, that it was there, she was starting to panic. If there had been one person in all the Great Dark Beyond that she didn’t want to know about it, it was Illidan. And yet, he was there and perfectly aware.

“Yes.”

A short answer as she didn’t want to talk more about it, at least not by herself.

“I never really thought that you could be a mother’s figure,” added Illidan. “You always seemed so angry at the world and unfit to raise a child.”

At those words, she kicked him in the legs and glared at him again. But this time, the glare quickly changed to some kind of sadness covering her eyes.

“I wasn’t expecting to be pregnant,” she told him. “I didn’t want it but when I realized what was happening, it was too late.”

She slid her finger over the edge of her glass, remembering that one night in Booty Bay.

“I was just having a vacation and that man came to see me. I… I don’t remember why, but I agreed to spend the night with him. In the morning, I left for the Vault. I don’t even know his name.”

Illidan was looking at her from the corner of his eyes. She was speaking so softly, and for a moment, she seemed so vulnerable that he wanted to take her in his arms and hug her. But he knew that if he was daring to put a hand on her, he would lose it. So, he just kept listening to her now that she was more open to it.

“I only discovered that I was pregnant around the four months when it became difficult to put my armor on,” she chuckled at the memory. “At first, I tried to hide it from the Wardens but when they caught me having morning sickness, I had to tell them. They were actually quite happy for me as they thought that it would finally help me to spend less time in the Vault.”

Slowly, she put a hand on her neck, gently scratching it as she frowned.

“To raise Mirina, I decided to set up a little house on Azsuna, near Faronaar. It was nice and I wasn’t that far away from the Vault if I had to get there for some kind of emergency. I have told Cordana to take my place to go to Draenor, as I didn’t want to leave Mirina alone on Azeroth. She… She really liked being there but then…”

Her voice suddenly broke as she grabbed her head between her hands, resting her elbow on the table. Tears began to fall from her cheeks and Illidan immediately brushed her back as a way to comfort her, despite not knowing why she was suddenly reacting like that.

“I’m the worst mother ever,” she said through gritted teeth, as more tears ran down her cheeks. 

“Wait, what happened?” gently asked Illidan, despite that he put the pieces together right away.

“Gul’dan and Cordana attacked the Vault, to take your body and… And…”

Maiev was trying really hard to speak, but her voice kept breaking as she vividly remembered everything that happened that day and on those that had followed.

“I left her alone,” she finally whispered. “I went after them and you, but it was a trap and they imprisoned me in Black Rook Hold. For weeks! In the meantime, she was completely alone at the house with the Legion who had started to invade the Isles.”

She was crying again, and this time, without thinking twice about it, Illidan took her in his arms as she had a hiccup between two cries.

“I… Thankfully, the Wardens knew about her and they went to get her so she wouldn’t be hurt,” continued Maiev. “And Jarod also got there and had been able to offer her a better house than them, as they were trying to set up a new headquarter after the fall of the Vault, but I was not there to help her!”

“Hey, calm down, calm down,” softly whispered Illidan. “At least, she was alright, and that’s what matters no? And we were at the beginning of a war, you couldn’t have predicted those events.”

“I’m still awful! She has nightmares about it and cannot sleep alone anymore,” Maiev kept crying, hugging him back this time. “I wasn’t there to protect her and now, I’m barely there to even take care of her!”

Realizing that it was probably the very first time that Maiev was openly talking about those events since they had happened, Illidan kept her in his arms and gently patted her back in the hope to appease her. But he also knew that she was going to exhaust herself with all of that crying, and he decided to put an end to the evening. Putting down the money for the drinks on the table, he grabbed Maiev in his arms and got up from the table, glaring down at anyone daring to look at them funnily. 

Once he got out of it, he realized he had no idea where to go.

“Can you guide me to your place?” he softly asked, looking around.

“I don’t want to go there,” she cried in her neck. “It’s empty and I don’t want it!”

Understanding that he wasn’t going to get an answer, he took the decision to make his way towards the Violet Citadel. He knew there were free rooms available for the adventurers in the building, and it was better than leaving Maiev on her own in the streets, or trying to bring her back to Deliverance Point. As he walked through the city, he gently rocked Maiev, humming a song as the woman was still really distressed. 

Once they had reached the building and that he had found a room, Illidan tried to put Maiev on the bed and leave, as he knew that it wasn’t his place anymore, but she clutched on him.

“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered as her crying was finally calming down.

And Illidan knew he had no other choice but to stay with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Like "I Hope To See You Again", this is the last chapter (save for a potential bonus chapter in December) for this year! I will pick it up again in 2021 with more chapters ^^
> 
> I really hoped you liked it and see you next week!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> For this week, we're taking back Parental Instinct where we left it and I hope you'll like it.
> 
> Next week, it'll be "Demons Within (Y)Our Heart" 4th chapter!
> 
> Enjoy ^^

A faint ray of sunshine was passing through the window, softly warming the room of the Violet Citadel. As it fell right on her face, Maiev slowly opened her eyes, blinking as she tried to remember where she was as it wasn’t looking like her house at all. Finally, she noticed the weight on the other side of the mattress as it shifted when the person next to her moved, and it was with horror that Maiev remembered who had been with her the night before. And indeed, as she turned around, she saw Illidan’s massive body next to her as his back welcomed her. He had kept his distance with the Warden all night long, and had only stayed to give her a presence as she had been extremely distressed with the memories of the attack on the Vault, and she hated herself for it.

Yet, as she saw him sleeping next to her, seemingly completely unbothered by the presence of the one person who had killed him, she felt her throat tightening as she only wanted to cry again. But she couldn’t afford it, she had to be strong and stop letting her emotions take over and ruining her life once again, and yet, she wouldn’t have minded a hug right now, even from Illidan, and it was with a shaking hand that she slowly approached his back. She was really close to touching him, but as if he had felt it, Illidan groaned out loud as he turned around, laying now on his back as he woke up. Immediately, Maiev turned her back to him, afraid to let him see yet another moment of weakness from her, and she closed her eyes to pretend that she was still asleep.

“Wait… Where…? Oh fuck, right,” he quickly muttered as he sat down, remembering what had happened as he noticed Maiev next to him.

He was angry with himself. Ever since his return, Maiev had only been awful to him, by wanting him dead again while she loudly insulted and threatened him constantly, and it was only because he hated the fact that Khadgar kept on insisting that he and Maiev had to talk about that that he had forced himself to do it. And yet, as soon as he had seen her being vulnerable, to express some real emotions that weren’t just anger and disgust, he fell from his rightful anger and helped her instead. The worst was that he knew that after that evening, he wouldn’t be able to fully be angered by the Warden anymore, as he also knew that deep down, it was a front that she was putting on to stop being hurt.

“Maiev, wake up,” he softly said, gently putting a hand over her shoulder.

“Go fuck yourself,” she replied, muttering it between her teeth.

Illidan only rolled his eyes.

“I think we’re already late,” he pointed out. “Khadgar will give us an earful.”

At that mention, Maiev straight up jumped away, sitting down immediately as the slight hangover had been able to make her forget the more important, and once again, she cursed herself really loudly in her mind.

“No, no, no, no,” she began to repeat constantly, jumping out of the bed as she adjusted her clothes after sleeping in them. “I promised! I fucking promised!”

And Illidan remembered too, how the little girl believed them when they both promised to her that her mom would be here in the morning. Just by looking at the woman, completely panicked over the situation, Illidan knew that he had to intervene as, after all, he had promised as much as Maiev. So, he got out of the bed too, and went to Maiev, still cursing out loud about the evening as she was trying to find a solution to both of her duties for the day.

“Listen Maiev,” he said, gently putting a hand on her shoulder. “Take the day off and stay with Mirina. I’ll tell Khadgar there had been an emergency on the Isle of the Watchers and that you couldn’t come today.”

At those words, Maiev slowly rose her head to look at him, and he could see her eyes shining with what were probably thankful tears, despite that the Warden was more than probably fighting them. With a slightly shaking hand, she put it over his own, but Illidan barely got the time to raise an eyebrow at the gesture that Maiev pushed his hand away from her body. Yet, as she turned around to face the door, she whispered a word.

“Thanks,” she told him.

And after that, she ran away, her mom’s duty being the strongest that day. Illidan looked at the door from where Maiev had disappeared, a faint smile spreading over his face until he noticed it. Frowning, he got rid of it, and then, sighed loudly as he left the room as well. After all, with one commandant away for the day, the army of Legionfall was going to need him more than ever.

Stepping inside Deliverance Point, Illidan saw that the place was as busy and crowded as every morning, and that his calculation had been off. He wasn’t late at all for that day, and he realized with half-horror, half-amusement, that he had stressed Maiev for nothing. But at the same time, telling her to take the day for herself was probably a good idea as it could eventually help her to become nicer to him. As he noticed that he had that thought, he frowned and wondered where it was coming from, but he didn’t have much time to start doing an introspection of himself that he caught the sight of Khadgar near the command center. Happy to finally be able to tell the human that he and Maiev had the conversation, he quickly walked towards him.

“Good morning Khadgar,” he said to get his attention. “I have good news.”

“Oh, nice! I guess you finally had that talk?” immediately found out the Archmage.

“Yes, it should be alright now. Though she might still act a little hostile towards me, there’s no ill thought from it and nothing should change from our abilities.”

“Nice, nice,” nodded Khadgar. “I know I could trust you both.”

Illidan quickly repressed his grin, as he knew that Maiev would probably keep threatening him to break his limbs and telling him to go fuck himself, but Khadgar didn’t need to know that they agreed on pretending to get along, not that they seriously talked about it.

“And I guess that she will join us soon?” the human asked right away, noticing the absence of the woman.

“Oh, unfortunately not today,” quickly replied Illidan, as he had almost forgotten about that.

The Archmage raised an eyebrow as he looked suspiciously at Illidan.

“When we were talking last night, we got interrupted by a Warden who was searching after Maiev,” began to lie Illidan, imagining the story on the spot. “She hadn’t actually explained out loud what was happening, but it had seemed pretty serious and they left the place to go back to the Isle of the Watcher. I’m not sure we will see her today.”

“It would be nice if she could warn when it happens,” pointed out Khadgar.

“Well… She trusted me enough to tell you…” Illidan tried, playing the trust card.

“Hum… I guess,” admitted the Archmage. “Well, I hope it isn’t anything too serious.”

Illidan only shrugged, aware that it was better for him to not add too much about the fictional problem as he had already noticed that under the silly and often out of touch front that the human had, he was actually extremely smart and Illidan had no doubts that Khadgar could find out the lie and discover Maiev’s secret. Instead, Illidan pointed out that he had work to do, and dismissed himself from the conversation, and got away to see what he could do for the day to fight the Legion.

But as he walked around Deliverance Point, he came across Velen, who was assigning some missions to the people around him, and as the Draenei saw him, he quickly finished his task and finally found himself alone, and he reached the hybrid with a smile. Illidan quickly nodded to acknowledge the Prophet and slowly, he remembered that the day before, Velen had hinted about Maiev’s secret while refusing to talk about it. But now that Illidan knew, he couldn’t see why Velen wouldn’t talk about it now.

“Hi,” said Illidan as he got closer to the Draenei. “I finally got to talk with Maiev last night, and also discovered why she was late yesterday.”

“And you are still alive? That’s a miracle,” Velen chuckled.

“Why?” Illidan couldn't stop himself from asking, even if he was remembering how Maiev threatened him when they met.

“When I approached her to ask if she was really taking care of a child, it was like her entire world had been shattered as she wasn’t expecting me to see it so clearly,” explained Velen. “And then, she proceeded to threaten me and that I had to know better than exposing her secret to everyone. She came back to see me right after your resurrection and there, she clearly told me that if I dare to tell you anything about her daughter, not even my future vision would save me from death.”

“Oh… That’s why you didn’t say anything yesterday.”

“Pretty much, but well, I decided to hint at it because she really needs to talk about it. She’s trying to balance her life between Legionfall and being a mom, but with the second one being a secret, she will just exhaust herself into the ground. I hope that if you, of all people, know about her daughter, it’ll ease her into admitting that she is a mom.”

“Tell me Velen, how far are you in the future to plan something like that?” Illidan asked, raising an eyebrow at the Draenei.

“I know way more than anyone could hope,” he laughed. “But I learned to not unveil it to not disrupt the future. So, I’m just watching the events unfold… And maybe help them a little.”

At those words, Illidan crossed his arms over his bust as he looked at the enigmatic Draenei, suspicion all over his face.

“And I guess that if I were to try to ask questions right now, I wouldn’t get any answer, would it?”

“You’re right,” smiled Velen.

Illidan sighed and lowered his head, shaking it almost out of disappointment.

“Anyway,” he finally said as he raised back his head. “How did you discover it?”

“Easy, I am – was - I was a father,” began to explain Velen, a shadow passing over his face as he corrected himself. “And some things are universal. Such as the face that a parent makes when they are forced to leave their child in the morning for their job. So, it hadn’t been hard to know what was happening with Maiev.”

“It does surprise me that she admitted it though.”

“I think that she wasn’t expecting me to find out on the first day,” laughed Velen. “I straight-up asked her if she wanted to leave earlier to go back to her child, and just by her face, I knew I was right. She had no reason to lie anymore.”

“I hope she will be alright,” added Illidan, looking away and not really realizing that he was saying that.

“It won’t be easy for her,” acknowledged the Draenei. “And I noticed that she isn’t here yet, this morning.”

“Oh, I told her to take the day off and stay with her daughter,” explained Illidan. “It was the least I could do after taking all of her time last night.”

“You did well, she really needs it, even if she refuses our help.”

After that, before they could carry on the conversation, some adventurers came to see them, as they still needed their assignment for the day, and Illidan apologized himself to Velen and walked away as he still had to act as a commandant for the day.

The day was slowly getting darker as Illidan finally got back to Deliverance Point after scouting the Shore all day to fight the Legion, even if he hadn’t been able to fully concentrate on that task. Actually, he just couldn’t get Maiev out of his mind and he was extremely surprised by that fact, especially that not even twenty-four hours ago, he was still wishing to get rid of the Warden and her awful personality. But after the first fast meeting with Mirina, and the evening with Maiev, he felt like he couldn’t really be angry with the woman anymore. More importantly, he was also really curious about the Warden’s behavior. She kept telling him that she wanted to hurt him and that she wanted him as far away as possible from her and her daughter, and yet, with only one drink, he had learned more about Maiev than he ever did in ten thousand years.

It was unexpected.

Why would she do that? And so fast? As far as he remembered, he barely asked any questions, and suddenly, Maiev was telling him everything, and he wasn’t believing that it could be the fault of the alcohol. She hadn’t seemed extremely drunk the night before. But he would probably not have those answers any time soon, and he knew that searching for them would be a bad idea either. He had been pretty happy that the morning had been alright, as he could have expected Maiev to be way harsher and maybe try to hurt him to have stayed for the night, and suddenly, he realized that there was a slight hope for their relationship to be better. And he had to not fuck it up.

Yet, without thinking much about it, he finally noticed that as he had been stuck deep in his mind, he had traveled all through Dalaran and he was now standing on Krasus’ landing. Quickly, he justified himself by telling himself that he was there to go on the Fel Hammer to see his Illidari, and yet, as he looked towards the little floating isle with the portal, he turned around and entered the city.

Walking through the streets, he looked around, more likely taking a stroll than really doing anything, and indeed, he had actually no idea why he was there, and slowly, he was hoping to not meet anyone as he wasn’t sure how to justify his presence. Yet, he could eventually pretend that he was there for some shopping, or just to get a drink in one of the bars all around the city. But as he kept walking, he suddenly felt something touching his hand and he stopped, looking down.

Only to be welcomed by a small bluish face, pink hair, and silvery eyes.

Mirina.

“Thank you!” the little girl immediately said as she noticed that Illidan was looking at her.

Without thinking, Illidan smiled and crouched to be at the girl’s level.

“For what?” he asked, genuinely wondering.

“For Mom to be with me today!”

Illidan repressed the surprised chuckle and raised his eyebrows at that mention. Did Maiev seriously tell her that it was thanks to him that she didn’t join the Army that day? It was surprising him, and yet, as Maiev got mentioned, he realized that the woman wasn’t there and he furrowed his eyebrows. No, Maiev wouldn’t let her daughter wander in the streets alone, especially now with the Legion invading.

And indeed, he suddenly heard a more than well-known voice coming from behind.

“Mirina!” she yelled, panic over her voice.

Illidan quickly looked to the side, and he saw her, wearing casual clothes and carrying bags of groceries that were almost hiding her sight, and on her face, the distress of having suddenly lost sight of her child. She reached them, almost out of breath and it surprised Illidan as Maiev had always been really athletic.

“Mirina! I told you to stay near me,” she quickly reminded, her voice shaking from the fear and also from the repressing of a scream of anger. “I can’t hold your hand right now, and I need you to stay very close. It’s dangerous to be alone!”

“Sorry Mom, I just wanted to thank I’dan,” the little girl replied, pointing at the hybrid next to her. “For today.”

“Illidan,” he quickly whispered to correct her, eye-siding Maiev to see her reaction.

“Illidan,” replied Mirina, forcing on the second syllable.

Finally, Maiev looked at the bane of her existence and sighed out loud, her eyes passing from real worry and concern over her daughter's well-being, to a wave of dwelling anger as she glared at the hybrid.

“Oh. You again,” she dryly replied.

“Me again,” replied Illidan with an awkward smile.

It wasn’t going to be easy after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Unfortunately, English isn't my first language so if someone is interested in becoming my beta-reader for the language, hit me up on my Tumblr!  
> Or if you just want to talk about WoW, my fics, someone else fics, or anything, you can still hit me up there!
> 
> https://thewritingof-therose.tumblr.com/
> 
> or on Discord
> 
> https://discord.gg/nvKggwc (An Illidan/Maiev Discord)
> 
> Later!
> 
> (Comments are welcomed and appreciated :D)


End file.
